Our Resilience

Founded in 1974, Resilience (formerly Rape Victim Advocates) has been on the front lines of working with survivors of sexual violence. Although much has changed since 1974, the need for our services has not. In fact, it has increased, expanding the need and scope of the services we provide. We continue to work with survivors of sexual violence. However, our work now addresses the entire spectrum of sexual violence, including harassment, abuse, and prevention, with an additional focus on public education and institutional advocacy.

There is one constant throughout our history: the resilience demonstrated by survivors.

Our new name honors survivors, and the staff and volunteers who work with them.

Mission

Resilience is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the healing and empowerment of sexual assault survivors through non-judgmental crisis intervention counseling, individual and group trauma therapy, and medical and legal advocacy in the greater Chicago metropolitan area. Resilience provides public education and institutional advocacy in order to improve the treatment of sexual assault survivors and to effect positive change in policies and public attitudes toward sexual assault.

Vision

Resilience envisions a world where prevention efforts and global awareness of sexual violence expose rape myths, remove stigmas, eliminate rape and support all people as equal members of society.

Guiding Principles

We are committed to the prevention of sexual violence, and provide client-centered and trauma informed services.

We are respectful, honest, empathetic, and sensitive in our interactions.

We provide a healthy, diverse, and inclusive organizational culture that encourages and supports staff and volunteers in furthering our mission.

We work with survivors of sexual violence and their loved ones, and are committed to assuring our services are accessible to survivors from marginalized and disempowered communities.

We advocate for the accountability of individuals, institutions, and communities who have a responsibility to those impacted by sexual violence, and work to influence positive change in other systems.

We are intentional in our support for and understanding of the intersection of all oppressions, and how they have contributed to rape culture.

We transform forward-thinking ideas into tangible actions.

We promote safe spaces and make the community for survivors wider.

We strive to work alongside communities in a collaborative and community-centered manner that is founded on the understanding that communities and individuals are the experts of their own needs and experiences.

Make A Difference

When you make a gift to Resilience, you join hundreds of other supporters who are dedicated to our mission and to our vision.

“My eyes and soul could finally see the life I was designed to live. I felt confident, empowered, encouraged and finally in control of my life. I know that none of this would have been possible without Resilience.”